A spokeswoman for Frank’s International told The Daily Advertiser this week that another round of layoffs is planned for the oilfield services company but offered no additional details. This is the fourth confirmed downsizing by the Houston-based company.
In response to falling oil prices, Frank's, which was founded in Lafayette in 1938, confirmed in March 2015 that it was cutting 400-500 jobs and in May announced another 150 job losses. A third downsizing was confirmed in October when 100 jobs were eliminated.
“Similar to other companies in the oil and gas industry, Frank’s International continues to be impacted by low energy prices and activity levels. Throughout 2015, Frank’s has been developing and implementing cost savings opportunities while continuing to focus on our long-term strategic plan,” Caroline Mansur, director of communications and external affairs, told ABiz about the October cuts. “... These reductions were in multiple areas and functions where we are experiencing the sharpest decline in activity levels.”
Frank’s is among the largest global providers of highly engineered tubular services to the oil and gas industry, offering its services to exploration and production companies working offshore and onshore. The company’s niche is complex and technically demanding wells.
That work is closely tied to oil prices, which have fallen from more than $100 per barrel in the summer of 2014. The price of a barrel of West Texas Intermediate crude averaged $48.67 in 2015 and has fallen even further in 2016 to average about $37 a barrel.
The Frank's International spokeswoman, Celina Allemand Michel, told the Advertiser the company would not issue a formal statement "until the process is complete."